Grounding spacer

ABSTRACT

A grounding spacer is provided. The grounding spacer comprising a circular body having a top surface, a bottom surface, and a central aperture, and a plurality of radially spaced penetration features, wherein at least one of the penetration features has at least a portion thereof extending from the top surface, and wherein at least one of the penetration features has at least a portion thereof extending from the bottom surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of, and claims the benefit of priorityto, U.S. Patent Application No. U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/209,299 filed on Mar. 13, 2014, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/784,847 filed on Mar. 14, 2013,the entire disclosures of which are expressly incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure relates generally to grounding spacers for makingelectrical connection between metal pieces that are mechanically joinedtogether.

Related Art

Solar panels are becoming an increasingly popular energy alternative.Solar panel frames, and the mounting rails to which they are fastened,can be made of aluminum. However, the solar panel frames normally haveanodized surface treatment, which insulates the surface from electricalcontinuity. As a result, the solar panels are not electrically groundedto the mounting rail. There exists a need in the art for a groundingspacer to provide electrical communication between two such mechanicalstructures that is easy and simple to manufacture.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a grounding spacer. More specifically,the present disclosure relates to a single sheet construction of agrounding spacer having a plurality of penetration features radiallyspaced about the spacer. The penetration features could alternatinglyextend in opposite directions, or the penetration features could eachhave portions thereof that extend in opposite directions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing features of the disclosure will be apparent from thefollowing Detailed Description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a solar panel assembly utilizing groundingspacers of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the solar panel assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a grounding spacer with roundpenetration features;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the grounding spacer of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top view of another embodiment of a grounding spacer withround penetration features;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the grounding spacer of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a grounding spacer with elongatepenetration features;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the grounding spacer of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view of an elongate penetrationfeature of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the grounding spacer of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional side view of the grounding spacer of FIG.9;

FIG. 13 is a top view of a flat blank grounding spacer with elongateholes; and

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of an elongate hole of the grounding spacerof FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to a grounding spacer, as discussed indetail below in connection with FIGS. 1-14.

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a solar panel assembly 8 utilizinggrounding spacers (washers) 10 of the present disclosure. As shown, theassembly 8 includes grounding spacers 10, a solar panel 12 having a topsurface 14 and a bottom surface 16, mounting rails (guard rails) 18having a top surface 20, panel clamps 22, and bolts 24. The solar panel12 could have an extruded aluminum frame, such as frames with a T6surface hardness. The grounding spacer 10 could be made of 300 seriesstainless steel with a temper, for example, of ½ hardness. However, thematerial and hardness of the grounding spacer 10 could vary depending onsuch factors as the material and hardness of the solar panel frame andmounting rails 18. The grounding spacer 10 can be manufactured from asingle sheet of metal. It is noted that although the grounding spacers10 are used in a solar panel assembly 8, the spacers 10 could be used inany variety of applications, where mechanical and electrical contactbetween two materials is desired.

FIG. 2 is an assembled view of the solar panel assembly 8 of FIG. 1. Asshown, each grounding spacer 10 is in direct contact with the bottomsurface 16 of the solar panel 12 and the top surface 20 of the mountingrail 20. When the bolts 24 are tightened, the clamps 22 will push downon the solar panel 12, and the penetration features of the groundingspacers 10 (discussed in more detail below) will penetrate (e.g., diginto) the aluminum frame of the solar panel 12 and the aluminum mountingrail 18, piercing the anodized surfaces, thereby providing groundingcontact between the solar panel 12 and the mounting rails 18.

FIGS. 3-7 are views of grounding spacers with round penetrationfeatures. More specifically, FIG. 3 is a perspective front view of agrounding spacer 110 with round penetration features 162, 164. FIG. 4 isa top view of the grounding spacer 110 of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is across-sectional side view of the grounding spacer 110 of FIG. 3 takenalong line A-A of FIG. 4. As shown, the spacer 110 may have a topsurface 134, a bottom surface 136, a central aperture 132 (e.g., bolthole), and an outer diameter 130. Top extending (upstanding) penetrationfeatures 162 and bottom extending (downstanding) penetration features164 alternate around the spacer. It is noted that eight penetrationfeatures 162, 164 are shown, but any number of penetration features 162,164 could be used. The penetration features 162, 164 could be formed bystamping sheet metal. More specifically, a stamping process could beused such that sheet metal is first stamped to remove material, therebyforming the outer diameter 130, the central aperture 132, and radialapertures positioned around the central aperture 132. Then the metalaround each of the radial apertures could be pushed (or stamped) to formtop extending penetration features 162, and then pushed (or stamped) asecond time to form bottom extending penetration features 164.

FIGS. 6-7 are views of another embodiment of the grounding spacer. Morespecifically, FIG. 6 is a top view of a grounding spacer 210 with roundholes, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side view of the grounding spacertaken along line B-B of FIG. 6. As shown, compared to the previousembodiment shown in FIGS. 3-5, the central aperture 232 is smaller incomparison to the outer diameter 230 of the spacer 210. Also, thepenetration features 264, 262 are still round but have smallerindividual diameters and are radially spaced farther away from thecentral aperture 232.

FIG. 8-12 are various views of a grounding spacer with elongatepenetration features. More specifically, FIG. 8 is a perspective view ofa grounding spacer 310 with elongate penetration features 340. Thespacer 310 includes a top surface 334, a bottom surface 336, an outerdiameter 330, and a central aperture 332. The spacer 310 is shown ascircular but could be of any size, thickness, and/or shape. The spacer310 may or may not include a central aperture 332 or a slot or otherstructure to accommodate a bolt. The spacer 310 includes a plurality ofpenetration features 340. Although six are shown, any number ofpenetration features 340 could be used (e.g., four, six, eight, etc.).Each penetration feature 340 includes an oblong hole partially definedby a top extending rim 342 and a bottom extending rim 344. Separatingthe two rims 342, 344, and partially defining the oblong hole, is anouter arc 346 positioned toward the outer perimeter of the spacer 310,and an inner arc 348 positioned toward the central aperture 332, whichare discussed in more detail below. The top extending rim 342 and bottomextending rim 344 extend in opposite directions, and are shown as beinggenerally u-shaped. It is noted that although an elongate penetrationfeature is shown, any shape could be used.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the grounding spacer 310 with elongatepenetration features of FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional sideview of an elongate penetration feature 340 taken along line C-C of FIG.9. FIG. 10 shows the top rim 342 extending from a top surface 334, and abottom rim 344 extending from a bottom surface 336. FIG. 11 is a sideview of the grounding spacer 310 of FIG. 8, and FIG. 12 is across-sectional view of the grounding spacer 310 taken along line D-D ofFIG. 9.

FIGS. 13-14 are views of a flat blank grounding spacer with elongateholes. More specifically, FIG. 13 is a top view of a flat blankgrounding spacer 410 with elongate holes 450. The flat blank groundingspacer 410 could be formed from a flat piece of sheet metal, and doesnot have any raised surfaces. A piece of sheet metal could be cut (e.g.,stamped) into a desired shape (e.g., circular) with a desired number ofelongate holes 450 radially spaced. As shown, the sheet metal could becut, such as by stamping, into a circular shape having an outer diameter430 and a central aperture 432. This is an intermediate step inmanufacturing the grounding spacer, prior to creating the raised rimsthat provide the penetration features of the grounding spacer.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of an elongate hole of the flat blankgrounding spacer 410 of FIG. 13. The elongate hole includes a first arc452, a second arc 454 opposite thereto, and an inner arc 458 and anouter arc 456 separating the first and second arcs 452, 454. A firstportion 463 is defined by the first arc 452 and the bend line 460, and asecond portion 461 is defined by the second arc 454 and the bend line460. The first portion 463 and second portions 461 could be formed intorims (such as shown in FIGS. 8-12) by bending or pushing (e.g.,stamping) the first portion 463 up, and the second portion 461 down,such as along the bend line 460. The inner and outer arcs 456, 458facilitate the manufacture of the penetration features and also relievestress placed on the penetration features when assembled.

Having thus described the disclosure in detail, it is to be understoodthat the foregoing description is not intended to limit the spirit orscope thereof. It will be understood that the embodiments of the presentdisclosure described herein are merely exemplary and that a personskilled in the art may make any variations and modification withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. All suchvariations and modifications, including those discussed above, areintended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. What isdesired to be protected is set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A solar panel assembly comprising: a mountingrail for a solar panel; a solar panel mounted to the mounting rail andhaving an extruded frame; and one or more grounding spacers inmechanical and electrical contact with the mounting rail and the solarpanel, each grounding spacer having: a body with a top surface and abottom surface; a plurality of apertures with separate upstanding anddepending rims; the upstanding rims bent from coplanar with the body toperpendicular to the top surface of the body; and the depending rimsbent from coplanar with the body perpendicular to the bottom surface ofthe body.
 2. The solar panel assembly of claim 1, wherein the groundingspacer comprises a single sheet.
 3. The solar panel assembly of claim 1,wherein the plurality of apertures each have rims that alternatinglyextend in opposite directions.
 4. The solar panel assembly of claim 1,wherein each of the apertures has rims partially about the aperture thatextend in opposite directions.
 5. The solar panel assembly of claim 1,wherein the grounding spacers penetrate the solar panel frame and themounting rail, thereby providing grounding contact between them.